Durbin: No U.S. ground forces against Islamic State while Obama is president

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said today that he does not expect any American troops to conduct ground combat to take on the Islamic State as long as Barack Obama is president. (Tribune file photo)

Regardless of what top U.S. military officials might advise, Sen. Dick Durbin said Sunday he does not expect any American troops to conduct ground combat to take on the Islamic State as long as Barack Obama is president.

Durbin, speaking on WGN (AM-720), also said he believed the nation's interest in taking on the Islamic State was due to its ability to serve as a training ground for terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

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Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said late last week that he stood by comments made earlier before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he would recommend U.S. ground troops take on the Islamic State if he felt it was necessary.

Asked if U.S. ground troops could find their way fighting the Islamic State, Durbin said, "I don't believe we will. We certainly won't under this president."

"Each general is entitled to his own take on what we need at any given military challenge, but that general makes a recommendation to the commander in chief—an elected president of the United States. The president's power in these areas, his authority, is limited and circumscribed by the Constitution. Ultimately, the American people have the last word through their members of Congress who can vote on this," said Durbin, who is running against Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis in the Nov. 4 election.

Durbin said an overhaul is needed of language authorizing the use of military force to reflect situations like Syria, where the U.S. is attempting to provide arms to moderate rebels fighting not only the Islamic State but government forces led by President Bashar Al-Assad.

"In Iraq, (it's) a nominal nation state with a 900,000 person army that we can train, direct and coordinate with. In Syria, it's just a grab bag of 1,500 different militia," Durbin said.

"I think the president's premise on this is right. We cannot, should not, will not do this alone. We are not going to send in combat troops, but we will coordinate and work with a multinational group that includes Arab and Muslim states that are trying to bring peace and order to the region," he said.